WASHINGTON  Despite an intense effort to eliminate
a daunting backlog of security-clearance investigations, the Department of Defense
says it now takes more time, not less, to complete those critical background
checks. In a report, the Pentagon's Security Directorate says the delays are
directly impacting wartime readiness, restricting military and defense contractors
from accomplishing "critical DOD missions." The case completion time for top
secret investigations now averages 441 days, the report says. Last fall, the
Pentagon said the average was 380 days.

"The lack of an accurate and timely security clearance
keeps men and women in the armed forces from serving in positions of trust,"
says Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who has pressed the Pentagon to fix the
backlog. A House panel headed by Shays has a hearing on the issue scheduled
today.

The Pentagon's inability to clear up a backlog of "periodic
reinvestigations"  updates on personnel already holding clearances 
is at the heart of the problem.

Pentagon officials said that without timely updates, the
United States becomes more vulnerable to espionage because spies usually come
from current employees.

That vulnerability became clear last week after the United
States charged one of its FBI counterintelligence agents, Robert Hanssen, as
a spy for Russia. Officials said the FBI updated Hanssen's clearance in 1996
and found nothing indicating a security problem.

More than 2.4 million people hold Pentagon security clearances.
The Defense Security Service, a Pentagon agency, is responsible for background
checks, though it receives help from private investigative firms and another
government agency. Clearances giving defense personnel and military contractor
employees access to classified information are based on background reviews.

Defense officials have struggled to eliminate a backlog
of reinvestigations, or updates, for nearly two years. That backlog stands at
318,000, according to the latest Pentagon estimate. However, the number of pending
cases is much larger when all types of background investigations are considered,
including updated reviews. By 2002, the report says, that could reach 1.2 million
cases.

The Defense Security Service says it needs more staff and
help from the Office of Personnel Management, which does some background checks.
It also said the Pentagon should issue more interim clearances, which would
allow people to do their jobs pending background reviews.